Why Walk It Off When You Can Run?
by LoopingTheLoop
Summary: Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Steve knows that better than anyone. Getting his team out of a prison where they don't belong isn't going to be easy, and he knows he's going to need some help from someone who is pretty pissed about being left on the sidelines this long.
1. Chapter 1

The Raft. A supermax prison for enhanced individuals. In hindsight, it was probably a good idea, but the biggest problem with it now was that it housed the wrong people. Far too many wrongs had taken place and this was one Steve Rogers was going to correct, even if it meant reaching out to someone he had specifically been trying to keep out of the fight. Someone who he was sure was going to be more than a little pissed about being left out for so long already.

 **Seoul, South Korea. One year ago.**

U-Gin Genetics was in shambles from Ultron's assault on their laboratories. Staff had died, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment had been damaged. Helen Cho was putting things back together as best as she could manage, and there certainly were enough issues as it was without more problems turning up on her doorstep. She'd almost died, and she had a weight of guilt on her mind for assisting Ultron even the little that she had, the lives of her staff weighed heavily on her mind even if the Avengers had managed to put a stop to the robot's grand plan of global destruction.

It had only been about a week since Novi Grad crashed down to Earth, taking and destroying many lives. There was one life that had barely been hanging on, though. One that, at the surface, had perished amidst a flurry of machinegun fire. Forty-seven bullets pierced through the speedster, but none had touched his brain or heart, which had both stopped functioning for well over a minute, but it turned out that Pietro Maximoff would not find a demise so easily.

And he was the biggest problem on Helen's plate. She owed the team, and the only person who even knew he was still just barely hanging on to life was the Captain, because false hope was not going to be something he put Wanda through when there were so many unknowns.

It also took the smallest amount of pressure away from Helen, because she would only have to deal with one Avenger if the kid teetered over the edge and truly was lost. Steve wasn't expecting anything, but he had hope, and he had to hold on to it.

 **Seoul, South Korea. Present Day**

"And you're sure we can trust these people?" Bucky was wary, and for good reason. They'd been hiding out for a while in the city, though he was strictly staying in the shadows because they were both wanted criminals still, and the distinct lack of an arm was going to draw attention they couldn't afford to have on them.

"I'm sure. We don't exactly have a lot of options otherwise, Buck. We need help and most of it is stuck in a tin can in the middle of the Atlantic. We're going to need a little speed on our side if we're going to bust them out." Steve was in civilian garb because after making contact with Helen, it was time to pull Pietro back into the fray.

"I feel like we probably could have used a little speed on our side at the airport.." The dark haired man muttered dryly.

"We didn't have the time and I wasn't going to to risk him dying for us a second time." There was a note of something in Steve's voice that told Bucky pressing the fact any further wasn't a wise decision. Now was a desperate time, because it was just the two of them and Bucky knew his usefulness had taken a serious dip. T'Challa had gone back to Wakanda because they needed their king and Steve refused to let him put any more at risk on him, than there already had been.

"Be careful out there. There isn't going to be anyone to save us if we get caught." It was more warning than Bucky knew he needed to give, but old habits died hard.

"I will. If everything goes well I should be back within the hour. Lay low until then."

And it was with that that the Captain slipped from the empty building they'd been hiding out in. He was to meet Helen and Pietro at a neutral location, and then they'd head out. Leaving the doctor with as little risk as possible was everyone's goal, because she had already done more than enough for all of them.


	2. Chapter 2

"Why do they call it bubble tea? There aren't any bubbles. Just these..lumps of goop." The silver haired Sokovian was closely examining the contents of the cup sat before him as he and Helen were seated across from one another at a little corner cafe in a quiet part of the city.

"It's not goop, it's tapioca and it's good." She responded, though in a very distracted sort of way. Pietro had gotten fairly good at reading her in the past year, only a fourth of which he'd spent conscious, but still. She was craning her neck ever so slightly and her eyes scanned the street outside the window every few moments.

The two of them had been sitting there for about an hour, and Helen had been uncharacteristically disconnected from their conversation. This was no uncommon occurrence for the two of them. He'd been pestering her for some time about getting out of the medical facility before she actually agreed to anything, but on the condition that she accompany him. It helped him get out of his head for a while and she ended up genuinely enjoying the little outings as a break from her work as well.

Today was distinctly different though. Pietro wasn't very happy about that. She'd decided out of the blue that they would be going out and, while he did admire the forwardness, just sitting around this place was not sitting well with him in the slightest. He'd been restless before he died, and now? Well, if he wasn't moving he felt like he was just drowning in boredom.

The first month after he woke up had been a hard one. His body had been brought back to a level of wholeness by an early iteration of the regeneration cradle that had birthed the Vision, but even after the process that had probably only taken a few days, he still remained in an odd sort of limbo between life and death. That time was dark and unpleasant, and he very much didn't want to talk about it to anyone.

The only thing that kept him calm and compliant after he had been conscious and aware enough to understand what happened to him was knowing that Wanda was alive, safe, and happy. They had always spoken of living a real life after the business with revenge was over, and she had that now. He needed to find it too. Not a single day went by when he didn't think about her. They had told him she was growing and getting stronger and he knew that if he interfered with that, they would only backslide into past patterns and issues.

There were still some times that he didn't feel himself too, and he distinctly didn't want her to have to see any of that. It was a sacrifice he would only be able to make for her, and he had to tell himself things were better this way, even when it hurt to think about. There was an anger inside him about being kept from her, but so long as he didn't think about it he didn't fall victim to his own temper. Helen had informed him many times that, while he was as strong as he had been before the incident(as she so delicately liked to refer to it as), keeping his state of mind in check was important to the stability of his condition. That thought pulled his attention back to the small woman across from him.

"Is there something I need to be worried about? You look as though someone is coming after you." His English had improved some, but not all that much, as it was the common language between the two of them. She had been teaching him pieces of Korean, too, so he could order for himself whenever they did go out together.

"No, nothing, really. Just feeling restless." Helen pulled her gaze from the window to fix on the man across from her. His hair was longer than it had been when he was first brought to her, but that same strange way that it was dark brown closest to the roots and silver everywhere else still remained. He was in a simple navy blue hoodie with a zigzag pattern running down the sleeves and a similarly colored pair of track pants.

"I do think that is supposed to be my job. While I do love these little dates, we have been sitting here a while now." There was a trace of teasing in Pietro's voice because she had told him probably a thousand times that these weren't dates.

"Just a while longer, and it's not a date." The little bit of color in her face was impossible to miss as she said it. She opened her mouth to say more, but the sound of a chair dragging across the floor and sudden presence of a tall blond man taking a seat at their table interrupted her.

"I hope I'm not too late. This city sure is easy to get lost in." Steve offered the woman an apologetic smile, but his delay had really been from the fact that he had to be absolutely certain no one was following or had recognized him. The black baseball cap and silver sunglasses helped with that, but the hard expression that had taken over the Sokovian's face said he knew full well who had joined them.

"What are you doing here?" There was an edge to Pietro's voice that caused the two people opposite him to turn their eyes in his direction.

"You didn't tell him?" Steve slid his stormy blue gaze to Helen whose ears had gotten rather pink.

"There was a lot to explain and I figured you could do it better.." She muttered, dropping her gaze to her chai tea before her.

"Tell me what? What's happened?" Instantly his first fear was that something had happened to Wanda.

"We need your help to get my teammates, and your sister, out of a pretty bad place." That was as simple as he could put it all, but Pietro of course demanded more information. By the time Steve had finished talking about everything that had happened, it was looking like the speedster was dangerously close to punching Steve right in the face.

"And leaving me out of the loop was a good idea because..?" He could feel the bubbling heat building in the back of his mind, and he knew it was in his own best interests to calm down, but he felt he had more than a right to be angry.

"The it wasn't viable to bring you in. Maybe I should have, but I didn't. Right now I need your help and that's what matters. You can hate me after we get them out. I don't expect anything different." Steve's even gaze held Pietro's and never wavered for a single moment.

There wasn't really any argument to that. The anger stewing in the back of Pietro's mind belonged there, and his focus belonged on getting his sister out of whatever hell she'd been locked up in. The part of him that knew staying away had been a terrible idea was singing out now. There wasn't much he could do to silence it either. There was only really one question in his mind.

"When do we leave?"


	3. Chapter 3

Collecting Bucky and getting back to the Quinjet was a swift process after that. Rightly so. From the intelligence they had been able to pull through a careful bit of hacking, they observed that a supply shipment was being dropped within eight hours, so that was their window to explain the plan and get there.

"We're going to be met with a lot of firepower when we get there. The most important thing we need to worry about is getting the alarm system disabled as quickly as possible. That's where you're going to come in, kid." Steve spoke evenly with his eyes on the sky as the jet streamed through the air. Bucky had taken the copilot seat, and Pietro was lingering a short distance behind them as they hashed out the details.

"I can do that." The silver haired speedster nodded. "And then we get them out, yes?"

"It's not going to be that simple. This place is heavy duty and we're going to have to make sure every guard is down before we can spring them all. I'm guessing they have some not so friendly failsafes for situations like this." Bucky glanced back at Pietro briefly as he spoke.

It was pretty clear that the dark haired man wasn't entirely sure that the Sokovian was ready for something like this. Pietro could see that from the way he was being looked at. He wasn't really going to bother with getting offended, because actions spoke louder than words and he wasn't going to risk pissing off a guy that really looked like he could kill him with just a glare.

"We got blueprints of the place, memorize the ways to corridors three, seven, and eleven. Those are the ones with security offices . That's also where the most guards are going to be hanging around, so focusing on those zones will take out a whole lot of the people that aren't going to be all that friendly. It going to be hot, so you'll have to keep on your toes." Steve gave him a brief glance over the shoulder with that.

"I have no plans on getting shot again any time soon." Pietro muttered. He understood why the Captain was trying to outline everything personally. This was no small task at hand, but he knew he could handle it and being micromanaged bothered him some.

"We're up against a lot of unknowns here, kid, if this goes south we're going to have a lot of really big problems coming our way. You need to take it seriously." Bucky seemed to have no issues with hitting the point directly. Pietro felt his lip twitch slightly.

"I _am_ taking this seriously. Maybe if you all had been more _serious_ , my sister wouldn't be stuck in some metal box under the ocean." Self control slipped briefly and Pietro couldn't help himself. There was no small amount of resentment in his mind for the fact they had let this happen. Up until that point he had thought he had been doing a marvelous job at keeping it to himself

Before Bucky could bite anything back, Steve cleared his throat. He was pretty damn sick of squabbling at this point, after everything that had happened.

"You better take a look at that package Helen gave you. I feel like it'll help out some." Steve directed with a nod backward. Something told Pietro that was more of a way to have a private talk with Bucky and to defuse the tension than any actual advice, but he wanted some time to himself and think through everything that was about to happen, so he receded further back in the jet to get a look at the bundle Helen had given him as a parting gift.

It was light, and wrapped in brown paper. He could tell it was fabric before he even unwrapped it, so after he had he just looked at it for a few moments. It was dark blue, and unrolling it told him that it was a matching set of shirt and pants. A pair of silver lightning bolts struck down at the sides and electric blue pin striping outlined them, and the material was, in a single word, weird. Stretchy to a point, but not at all like spandex. The fabric was thicker than he had expected for the weight of it all, and seemed very strong. It was cool too, and in a way it felt like he was holding water.

Well.. He _obviously_ put it on. It was a whole lot more battle-ready than his sweats.

It only looked a small percentage as ridiculous as he thought it might actually on. He wasn't sure what the fabric was, but he was impressed at how it did a fantastic job of feeling much like a second skin, but it didn't look too tight and more importantly it didn't feel too tight. It didn't inhibit his range of motion in the slightest, even with the slightly higher than expected collar. It seemed as though the fabric was more resistant to friction than anything he'd dealt with before. The sleeves even had thumb holes, which was a touch he appreciated.

There wasn't much room in the cabin of the jet to actually test how it worked out at superspeed, but he had a feeling it would all do the trick. He had to trust that Helen and her coworkers knew what they were doing, and he couldn't help the little spark of excitement and nerves in his stomach about all of this. His restlessness was pretty damn hard to satiate, especially when he knew he could be doing actually important things.

And saving his sister? Well, that had to be just about the most important thing he could think of.

Some time later, Bucky gruffly informed him that they were fifteen minutes out. A to-the-point review of everything they had been talking about that he needed to know soon followed, and Pietro knew it was time to keep his head clear and focus. When there was a task at hand as important as this, he found little difficulty in doing that.

The sight of the open maw of the Raft's hangar was sure as hell impressive. Water was still streaming from the portholes along the sides so it must have only just recently surfaced. Pietro lingered behind the pilot's seat to watch as the Captain radioed in clearance codes. The go ahead was given for the aircraft to descend and the jet made a careful drop down to the open landing platform.

"Get in position, kid. They're going to be figuring out who they just let in, and when they do we're going to have a tight time limit. Guard stations and security hubs first. We'll be right behind you." Steve directed, and the speedster gave a nod.

In an instant he was at the platform towards the back of the jet, wisps of blue and silver fading in his wake. His body was like a spring, just waiting to snap into action. As the platform slowly lowered before him, he took a deep breath in and a twist of his head elicited a habitual crack of his neck.

These guys weren't going to know what hit them.


	4. Chapter 4

"You watch the game last night?" A guard seated in front of a wall of screens glanced over to his coworker. The whole lot of nothing going on the monitors was gut wrenchingly boring, most of the time.

"No. You do realize we have exactly zero reception at the bottom of the ocean, right? Did you see it somehow?" The retort had a monotone feel, because this was something they'd gone over about a thousand times.

"No.." He muttered. "Jus' trying to make conversation."

Both their pairs of eyes were on each other, so the blur of blue that streaked across the hallway leading to section eleven went entirely unnoticed. The sound of a heavy clang hitting the metal door soon followed. Whatever impacted hit hard enough to dent the sheet metal, and as a result the thing creaked open.

Pietro had something of a smirk on his face, letting the now unconscious guard drop from his grasp. The room went dead silent, and every eye turned to face the speedster. Then as if the spell had been broken, the half dozen men inside all snapped into action.

Pistols were drawn, chairs were turned over, hand's went to set off alarms, but it all might as well have been in slow motion. Actually, it was exactly in slow motion to the Sokovian as he darted down the staircase leading to where the men were stationed. At this speed, a punch could probably take a person's head off if he tried hard enough. That was pretty unnecessary for what they were trying to do. These men were doing their jobs, though it was arguable that they deserved a lot more than getting knocked out for what they had been doing.

But, knock them out was all he did. Hardly ten seconds had passed, but when the silver haired man came to a standstill again, every other figure in the room had dropped like a bag of rocks. He had paused near the guard at the monitors. This had been the last of the security stations to tackle, and the screens displayed Steve and Bucky plugging their ways through the two different halls. Time wasn't on their side, even if things were going according to plan so far.

As if that point needed to be reminded to him, the sound of movement had him turning on a dime to face the door again. The guard had already started radioing on his comm. "We have a breach, repeat, we have a breach. Sector eleven. All available personnel report immediately."

And there was his cue to kick back into high gear. The man drew his gun as Pietro turned into nothing but a blur again, and only a single round went off before the sound of a body dropping hit the air. The whiz of the bullet past the speedster's ear had sent a real chill down his spine. He brushed it off, eyes on the man on the ground.

"Going to take more than one to get me.." Pietro muttered under his breath in dry, humor.

A dull thunder of heavy footsteps at the very end of the hall met his ears, and a squad a seven men was its source. Had all the security staff not been unconscious, there probably would have been a whole lot more first responders, but Pietro saw them still as a healthy challenge. It was clear a speedster was something none of these men had been trained to deal with. They dropped like dominoes amidst a haze of blue and silver.

 **Containment Block 3**

After dispatching every visible guard in the sectors leading to the cells, Steve took point in reaching the area. Pietro had been tasked with collecting the personal items that had been confiscated, and Bucky was back at the jet, readying things to be sure that they could hit the air as soon as super-humanly possible once everyone was retrieved.

The sound of a fist connecting with a skull was the most exciting noise Sam had heard in at least four days. Sitting in the cell was about as boring as anything could be, and the fact that he could constantly hear Scott drumming away on the stool in his cell was starting to _really_ get irritating.

The sight he saw when he met the glass and steel bar barrier to see what the sound had been from was one he probably should have been expecting, but that didn't stop the bright smile of relief and surprise from sprouting on his face when he spotted an equally brightly grinning Steve Rogers.

"Man, you are one hell of a sight for sore eyes." Sam got to his feet as Steve swiped a keycard off the now very unconscious guard.

"Would've been here sooner, but you know how hard it can be to get top secret information about underwater prisons." As Steve spoke he closed the distance between himself and his friend's cell, giving the card a sweep past the sensor to raise the chain gate and lower the glass wall.

By now all this activity had drawn the attention of almost every occupant in the whole cell block. Steve quickly relayed the directions to the hangar to Sam, Clint was brandishing a muted grin and Scott was legitimately cheering.

"And, Captain America comes to the rescue!" Greeted the excitable man to Steve as he opened up the cell. "Never doubted you for a second, Cap."

"Never leave a man behind. The wait was just longer than expected.." Steve's smile was apologetic and Scott just kept grinning as he made a beeline for the exit to catch up to Sam because he'd be damned if he had to spend another moment in that stupid room.

"My kids are probably gonna kill me for being gone this long. I have a feeling the next time I retire, it will be for good." Clint was absolutely patient as Steve made his way over to the archer's cell and the barriers came down."Good to see you in one piece."

"Could've ended a lot worse, I'm just glad we're getting you all out of here." Steve had a slightly more somber tone to his voice and the archer nodded gravely. "Gear's back at the jet, time's short so head out."

Clint didn't need to be told twice, and he headed for the exit promptly with a jog. At the same time there was a faint breeze of wind and fading blue haze followed along with it in turn, just missing the archer's line of sight.

Pietro seemed slightly irritated, mainly because Bucky had been trying to tell him to stay put until everyone got back. That directive was willfully ignored and the only thing he really cared about was making sure his sister was safe and secure.

"Where is she?" His tone was probably more curt than it should have been, but they had been here far too long and a tight feeling had gripped his stomach.

"Last one, over there, I was going to-" The key card was swiped almost instantaneously and in the next moment, Pietro was at the barrier between himself and the only person in the world who really mattered at all to him.

The sight before him ripped a hole right directly through his heart, and not a moment was wasted in flashing the card so he could get to her. The barriers couldn't disappear fast enough. He wanted to rip the metal away and punch the glass until his hands bled. In that very moment he wished nothing more than to have done a great deal more than just knock out every guard he'd come across.

She was seated on the cot with her back facing him. The sound of the shifting glass and metal didn't even incite a reaction. The straight jacket held her arms around her, and Pietro felt himself gritting his teeth so tightly, it was a miracle they didn't shatter. His sister. Bound, like an animal. Someone was going to pay very dearly for this. He'd never felt such a fire for retribution before. It made the hate they'd both held for Stark for so long look like mild annoyance.

Pietro felt a genuine pain in his chest from the intensity of the emotions, but he forced a calm as best as he possibly could. Not for his own sake, but for hers. He'd imagined they would be reunited again, eventually. Not like this. Never like this.

"Wanda.." His voice had a waver to it that he couldn't help as he took a cautious step closer. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her, because how could she not already be scared?


	5. Chapter 5

This wasn't the first time. It had been about a month since she had one of these dreams. Wanda glanced over her shoulder, eyes dull even as they found her brother. She didn't remember falling asleep, but she wasn't surprised that she didn't. Time blended around within the bleak walls of the cell. She had stopped struggling against the straightjacket days ago. It was no use. The few times she had attempted to use her powers to rid it from her, the collar around her throat sent painful shocks up and down her spine. All she could do was sit there with nothing but the chaos in her mind to keep her company.

"Go away.." She muttered. There had been so many tears shed over these dreams. Wanda just couldn't. Not anymore. Not here.

Still, her eyes stayed on him, flicking up and down to take in every detail. His hair was longer.. Was she really that far gone? Or was her memory of him finally being tainted? Was this what madness felt like? She eyed the suit he wore.. He looked like what she always thought he was. A hero. Her hero, here to save her from this wretched place.

Oh, how tempting it was to believe.. To let herself believe the lie her mind dreamed up for however long it lasted. Tempting, but she wasn't going to let these fantasies hurt her anymore than they already had. This wasn't real and she had to cling to that, because she would surely lose any sanity she even had left if she started indulging these wild impossibilities.

"I'm not going anywhere, Wanda, not without you. We need to leave." Pietro felt like someone had punched him right in the stomach. That red light at her collar had him bristling and he wanted nothing more than to rip that awful jacket off of her and burn it.

The way she was looking at him was unsettling. He hated this. Hated that she looked at him like he was a ghost, because as far as she was concerned he was. A few cautious steps forward were made because they really had to get going.

"I said go away!" The heat and anger in her voice had him stop dead. She never yelled at him. No matter what trouble he caused, she never raised her voice. The pain in those four little words cut him deeply.

Red haze pulsed around Wanda and flooded her irises a deep crimson for a few seconds. The collar around her neck let out a lone whining beep before the light started blinking rapidly. A zapping sound was heavy in the air and Pietro watched in horror as electricity burned through her body, causing his sister to convulse violently before going dangerously still as she slumped to the side. Her breathing was shallow and her eyes had fluttered shut.

Words had gotten the two of them exactly nowhere at this point. Actions. Pietro could manage that. He was at her side in an instant, hands quickly and carefully undoing the straps of the jacket. His expression was a hard mask because one of them had to keep a handle on things, and she had already been put through far too much for him to ask that of her.

"It's okay, I'm here, you're safe now.." He was rattling of more and more consoling words as his fingers finally managed to peel away the course material of the jacket. The collar came along with it, and by then, she had begun to stir again.

"You're not real.." Her voice was small and broken. He couldn't be. She had felt it. She felt him die. Felt the pain ripping through him and snapping the connection between them like a ribbon. All that had been left behind was the fluttering strands of hopelessness as she drowned in the wake of crushing grief.

She had him speechless now, kneeling there in front of her as she peered at him through strands of dark hair. Wanda extended a hand out to him, expecting it to be the thing to shatter the illusion in her mind. Her fingertips were cold and hesitant against his jawline, feeling the familiar coarse stubble scratching against her touch.

It processed in her mind and he saw her eyes widen slightly. Wanda gave in to the instinct to snap her hand back, but he caught it in an instant.

"I never should have left you.. I'm sorry. This is real. All of this. I am real, Wanda. I need you to trust me." The speedster had managed to find his voice again and it wasn't a moment too soon. Wanda had sharply straightened up, an expression of pure uncertainty etched into her features. Her eyes weren't on his, they focused on their interlaced hands.

Pietro brought her palm to rest against his chest, just over his heart. "Believe me. Believe this."

The drumming beneath her hand took her breath away. Fast, strong, and solid. Just like him. Wanda felt her brows knit together and her lips parted slightly as if she wanted to say something but just couldn't think of the words.

It was too good. Too good to possibly be true.

"Let me in.." She muttered lowly, picking up her other hand to rest her fingers against his temple. That was the only way she could be sure. The little flicker of hope she felt in her stomach was more dangerous than anything else ever could be.

She had never needed to ask, because he had never wanted to hide anything from her. Pietro answered her with the simplest of nods, and let his eyes drop closed.

Her fingertips left his skin and twitched around fluidly. A thin thread of scarlet mist extended out and danced in the air for only a moment before disappearing into his mind. Her eyes were burning red and she saw him. His thoughts were always just as fast as the rest of him. Like a beehive humming with every part working in perfect synchronicity. Their shared memories slotted perfectly into place. She could see the new ones too. Of time spent on the other side of the world, and of him getting strong again. She saw how hard it had been to convince himself leaving her to her new life was the right thing, and she saw the way she had been in his thoughts from the moment he woke up.

But she saw something else too. Like a dark mass at the very back of his mind. Wanda saw him spending those months just out of reach of the living world, trapped in darkness. Not at all dead but not truly alive. It sent chills crawling down her spine. The crushing loneliness mirrored what she had felt without him perfectly.

Pietro could feel her in his head. He hadn't forgotten what it was like. It was how things were supposed to be.

Out of everything she saw, she could determine one thing for certain. Thankfully, it was the most important thing. She left his mind utterly untouched, as always. Tampering with her brother had been a line she would never cross.

The realization that this was real and he was really him hit her hard and she felt tears spilling from her eyes as she threw her arms around him to pull him close. An intense relief hit Pietro, and he had his arms around her within an instant.

"I'm sorry.. I.. I shouldn't have stayed away.. They told me you were safe and I thought.." Pietro felt a frown edging his expression and he shook his head at himself. "I don't know what I was thinking.."

"I don't care, Pietro.. You're here and you're with me now." Her voice was muffled and sounding incredulous against his chest but her words were clear to him. It didn't exactly make him want to forgive himself at all, but he knew focusing on her was the only important thing he had to be worried about.

The speedster gently ran his fingers through her hair and just held her. In that moment, time really didn't matter much, and he wasn't quite sure how much had passed before she finally looked up at him, and when she did he knew he never would be leaving her side again.

Movement to the side tore his attention away and he saw Steve standing off to the side. A little nod from Pietro confirmed that he knew they had to get going and Steve let it be his cue to head out.

"Come on, we're getting out of here.." A little smile was on his face as he plucked his twin up in his arms. Wanda naturally curled closer, having never forgotten the way he could send the world into a blur with such ease to get her to safety.


	6. Chapter 6

The world transformed in the blink of an eye. Wanda couldn't take hers off Pietro as he ran so effortlessly through the cold steel corridors, all the way out to the prison cell block out to the hangar. His arms were strong and familiar around her and she could hardly believe this was all really happening. Whenever she started to feel herself doubting again, she just remembered the presence of his rapid thoughts darting right alongside hers. That loneliness that had been in her mind for the past year was gone now and she knew for a fact it was the happiest she had been in all that time.

Wisps of blue hovered in the air as they came to a stop, and Pietro reluctantly let Wanda find her feet again. The platform to the quinjet was still lowered and he was pretty sure they had beaten the Captain back even though he had his head start.

Wanda found her hand automatically lacing with her brother's in an instant. She held it tightly, as if doing anything else would risk the chance of him slipping away from her again. Pietro couldn't help but smile his slightly crooked grin at her.

" _You're faster now, aren't you_?" he heard her voice echoing in his head and that grin turned into a smirk with a bit of a nod.

" _I've got a few new tricks up my sleeve, yes,"_ Pietro responded, his thoughts resounding with the not-so-hidden pride about it he clearly felt.

The Twins made their way up the platform, and the two of them were too absorbed in talking without actually saying anything at all to notice the small commotion going on in the cabin of the jet.

"So he just shot your arm right off? Did it hurt?" Scott was engrossed by staring at Bucky's missing appendage. Bucky looked as though he was about twelve seconds from strangling the shorter man. Clint and Sam were both watching in thinly veiled amusement.

Of course, the appearance of the two Maximoffs didn't go unnoticed. Sam caught the movement from the corner of his eye and did a double take before giving Clint an elbow to the side to draw his attention.

" _Don't think you're not in at least a little trouble for keeping this a secret, because you are,"_ Wanda held her brother's eyes, though she could feel their teammates eyes on them and forced herself to look away. She knew she couldn't hog him all to herself, so she gave a nod in Clint's direction for Pietro to look.

The archer's eyes were so wide that Pietro swore they would fall right out of his head. A devilish smile was on the speedster's face in an instant.

"What? You didn't see that co-.." His words were instantly interrupted by Clint catching him in what could only have been described as a bearhug. Pietro made a sound at the suddenness of the contact and he could see Wanda's smirking out of the corner of his eye.

Clint couldn't really believe it, and as the embrace broke he was still brandishing a wide grin as he gave the younger man's shoulder a squeeze. Pietro gave a smile back in return.

"You sure are full of surprises, kid. I don't even care how. I'm beyond glad no matter what." Clint had spent quite a few sleepless nights thinking about what he could've done differently to prevent what happened that day from ever occurring.

"It's a long story." Pietro admitted, though he wasn't all that keen on digging into what happened all at the moment. He caught Wanda's gaze and she gave his hand a tight squeeze.

"And it's one we can cover after we've left this place in the dust," Steve spoke up from the platform as he entered the jet. Sure, they were all on the jet, but they wouldn't be out of hot water until the Raft was a dot in the distant horizon behind them.

The Captain took the controls, the engines already well warmed and ready to go. Just as the quinjet lifted into the air, the sound of shifting metal was heard, and every inhabitant of the jet felt a little twisting in their stomachs.

The hangar doors above were closing quickly, and Pietro held Wanda's hand a bit tighter as the speed of the aircraft picked up.

"You all might wanna hang onto something. This ain't exactly gonna be smooth," Sam gave warning over his shoulder, watching as the gap with the sky showing above them got smaller and smaller as the jet grew closer and closer.

Pietro was sure to loop an arm around Wanda to keep her close to him as they all felt a sharp jarring as the jet managed to clear the gap, just clipping one of the wings slightly. It was almost like the whole group let out a collective sigh as the aircraft put more distance between itself and the floating prison.

" _Are you alright?_ '' He was attentive to a fault, and Wanda had missed that more than she could ever have imagined she would or could have.

" _Only because you are here,_ _мой колибри,"_ she had a little smile on her lips at the nickname that he still lived up very well to. Pietro chuckled softly and shook his head at her.

" _While I would love to take all the credit, they did most of the complicated work.. I just do what I do best."_ He let the arm that had been around her detach so he could simply have her hand in his.

They were so wrapped up in their own little shared world that they didn't notice how the Captain had set the autopilot and joined the team along the backmost part of the cabin. He had a sort of somber look on his face, which was understandable considering what now had to be discussed.

"It's no secret that we're all still wanted, and we'll have more than just the U.S. Government coming after us now. The Accords might still be in place, but that doesn't mean we can't keep helping people. The choice is and always has been yours to make," he spoke evenly, eyes shifting around between the various inhabitants of the cabin to gauge their expressions.

"My kids don't need their pops gone any longer than I have been already, so I think you already know my answer, Cap," Clint cracked the silence that had gripped them all first. Steve gave a nod, having fully expected that and not blaming the archer in any sort of way. Barton had done more than his part for them already.

"I got a little squirt back home I need to be getting back to, and a lady-friend of my own too, but.. You know how to get ahold of me." Scott had a sort of reluctant tone. Being with this bunch of super-people was about the coolest thing ever, so it wasn't easy to put it on hold, but he finally had his shit at least sort of together and didn't want to risk that just yet.

"Hold on, you're telling me you've got a chick?" Sam gave a snort of disbelief, and Scott frowned defensively.

"Yeah, I've got a _badass_ chick. Is that really so hard to believe?"

"Well.. Yeah. She blind or something?" Sam was obviously getting more than a little kick out of tormenting Scott, as was everyone else. Even Bucky was sporting a little smirk at the banter between the two men.

The Twins weren't paying attention to the idle chatting that had broken out. Wanda had a hard expression of consideration on her face and her brother had taken notice of it almost instantly.

" _What do you want to do?"_ He was far more concerned with her opinion than even bothering to think about it himself. She was the one who had been with them for the past year. She was the one who had surely grown attached, because part of him still had faith that they had been treating her right even if they had let all of this mess happen.

" _I'm not sure.. We could do what we always talked about.. Fresh start. Together.."_ Even in her thoughts her tone sounded reluctant.

" _But things are different now. We're both different now. I will go with you no matter what. You already know that."_

" _Of course I do, but I don't want to risk you ever-.."_

" _That will never happen again. No matter what. You can't let that make this decision. We will be together, so no matter what we will both be safe."_

" _I.. I still don't know. You're not going to let me make you pick for me this time, are you?"_

" _It is good that a year apart has not made you forget how stubborn I can be. You have been with them all this time so you have to be the one to decide whether or not you want to stay."_

" _I would never forget anything about you.."_

" _I know. Trust me, I know."_ Pietro gave her hand a squeeze and smiled.

"Wanda? Pietro?" Steve was looking at them both and managed to snap them out of each other's heads for the time being. "You don't have to decide now.. There are some things that have to be taken care of first before we move forward, so-.."

"You can stay with us if you like, my place I mean, if you want for a few days. Until you figure things out? It's a lot to think about so I don't think anyone here expects you to choose now." Clint was ready with the offer. He already knew Laura would want to meet Pietro, and Wanda had been over once or twice already for the same reason.

"Yes. Some time would be good.. And.. If you would have us.." Wanda was quick to answer, smiling warmly at the archer. She paused a moment before glancing at Pietro. " _That is okay, yes?"_

He gave a nod of agreement. "A few days time will be more than enough."

"Great, we can get you guys taken care of and then we can handle-" Steve was sharply cut off by the sound of a small explosion and the sharp jostling of the whole plane.

"Shit.."

* * *

{{Feedback always appreciated! As of right now this is probably going to be ending when the Twins make their decision and I'll probably do a sequel or something maybe(not sure). But any suggestions or ideas are always welcomed!

Thanks a million for reading!}}


	7. Chapter 7

"Langu-.." The archer was cut off in his little jab at the Captain by another shot to the quinjet. Clint was the first to get to the pilot's controls, and that was a good thing because he was probably the only one who could keep the jet stable.

Nothing had breached the hull too terribly, and the cabin was still totally intact. These were warning shots. Anyone with a brain could see that, but warning shots could turn into something far more dangerous in the blink of an eye. From the front windows it was plain to them all what was the source of the attack.

A single F-16 was visible, positioned squarely in front of them. Clint muttered under his breath something about being willing to bet money there was another pair of fighter jets behind them. They were all still over the water, though, and would be for quite some time.

"We're going to need to get them off us if we even have a chance at getting someplace secure," Steve shifted his gaze around to his team, but wheels were already in motion as he spoke.

Sam was well on his way to donning his gear, more than happy about the fact that Pietro had been sure to retrieve it from the complex.

"I'm going to need some support out there, because I really don't feel like getting shot out of the sky today. That water down there looks cold," as he spoke he finished fastening the straps of his pack, and oddly enough almost every eye shifted over to Wanda, who Pietro had an arm adamantly wrapped around.

" _No."_ Instantly left his mind, and she looked up to him, not caring that the others were watching their silent conversation.

" _I can't just do nothing."_ Even in his head her voice held a firmness that made her twin frown. She understood the risks and danger, but there would be a whole lot more if she didn't help. " _I'll be fine. I can do this."_

" _What if something happens? How do you know?"_ He hadn't seen for himself how much she had grown in her abilities yet, and in his mind she was still his little sister. Pietro couldn't _not_ worry about her. Not when they had spent a year apart and he was only just now getting her back. He caught her hand, the creases of concern etched clearly in his expression.

" _I need you to trust me."_ Wanda took the smallest step back, though their hands were still connected. If they had any other option, she would gladly take it.

"I'll keep an eye on her, kid. Nothing's going to happen," Sam clapped a hand on Pietro's shoulder, offering his best reassuring smile.

Pietro actively had to not grit his teeth and gave a reluctant nod instead, loosing his hold on Wanda's hand so she and Sam could head to the back of the plane where the platform was dropping.

Clint was doing a splendid job at keeping the aircraft steady even when the blast of air resistance from the opening was thrown into the picture. Sam wasted not a single moment, pulling his goggles over his eyes and kicking off the platform to drop into a dive. The red and silver paint was still scratched up to hell from the fight, but when the wings unfurled and caught the air to send Sam up into the air, the sight was no less majestic than any other time Wanda had seen it.

She had to tear her eyes away from him and refocus. Like Clint had suspected, there were two F-16s trailing them to complete the triangular formation around the jet. Transparent ropes of crimson energy flowed like water from Wanda's hands, winding and curling around in the air as she willed them to whip out at the jet to the left, which happened to be adjusting to get a lock on Sam as he provided the perfect distraction for both of the jets.

The younger twin's eyes burned red as a haze of the same hue caught around the nose of the first jet, and with a sharp jerking motion the aircraft dipped down suddenly. These were the men that wanted to take her from her brother and stick her and everyone else on the quinjet back in those awful cells.

The jet incurring her wrath made a swift and abrupt descend down towards the cold waters below, though there was a glimpse of a white parachute from the pilot ejecting in the distance as the three remaining intact aircrafts forged onward through the sky.

All eyes save for Clint's and Sam's were on Wanda as she threw up a wall of energy as a incoming hail of gunfire crackled out from the remaining jet behind them. While the pilot of that jet was so focused on trying to down the quinjet before him, he failed to take into account the fact that Sam was still flying high in the sky, and had managed to plant six or so charges on the tail of the F-16.

Just as the pilot was gearing up to fire something a whole lot bigger than bullets at the Scarlet Witch, the charges detonated, effectively disabling the engines and sending the jet careening down in a spin to the waters below.

And then there was one. The jet ahead of them had surged further ahead, and was pulling off a hairpin turn to head directly back at the quinjet. A small missile was fired right at them, and Clint only had moments to react.

"Everybody hold on!" Was all the warning he could give as he jerked up on the controls. Of course, this was hardly enough time for anyone but Pietro. Steve and Bucky managed to grab ahold of something to anchor them, but Scott wasn't so quick on the draw. Pure instinct was all that kicked in as Pietro saw Scott tumble from his footing backward.

The speedster had an arm linked with the man who was just moments from slipping out of the back of the jet in an instant, and wasn't quite sure what had surprised him more. The near fall or the sudden jerk of being grabbed with his legs quite literally dangling off the edge of the platform.

Pietro had one hand closed firmly around Scott's wrist, and the other around a metal beam to give him some semblance of leverage as the quinjet was dangerously close to reaching a forty-five degree angle in the sky.

With them both working to get Scott back in the safety of the cabin, he was soon back on his feet breathing heavily and gripping way too tightly onto one of the beams inside with his eyes as wide as headlights.

"Saw my whole life flash by," he sounded more exasperated than actually afraid. "I've eaten _way_ too many of Luis' waffles.."

Bucky and Steve exchanged a look at that, but decided they didn't want to know what that could possibly mean.

Pietro wasn't paying attention to any of them now. The jet soon leveled out, and he vaguely heard another small explosion as the final F-16 went diving downward to the water. The motor-mouthed thanks from Scott were ignored, because there was only one thing sticking in his mind now.

What happened to Wanda?

There was a suffocatingly painful twist in Pietro's stomach as he automatically assumed the worst. Fate seemed to be cruel to them like that. Why wouldn't it bring them together only to rip the apart all over again?

Thankfully, the feeling of dark, black dread didn't last long, because soon enough, wildly flying brunette hair came into sight, and the younger Maximoff touched down on the platform with as much grace as if she had done it a hundred times. Wisps of ruby haze faded away soon enough and in the blink of an eye she was pulled away from the edge further back into the cabin.

Sam followed behind and with a sharp burst of speed followed but the wings retracting, he shot into the back of the quinjet with perfect aim.

Pietro was sporting an apologetic look on his face and he'd pulled Wanda with him to the side, but before he could even say anything she brought a hand up to cover his mouth.

"I told you I could handle it." Wanda had a reassuring smile on her face that Pietro couldn't managed to be unaffected by. He cracked a smile too and pulled her into a brief hug.

"So you fly now, huh? No broom required?" He was still her big brother and couldn't help his teasing tone, even if it earned him an elbow in the ribs.


End file.
